Defiant North Korea celebrates rocket launch

HUNDREDS of thousands of North Korean soldiers and civilians have rallied in the centre of Pyongyang for a mass celebration of the country's long-range rocket launch.

AAPDecember 14, 201210:50pm

NaN:aN

October 1st 2015

2 years ago

HUNDREDS of thousands of North Korean soldiers and civilians have rallied in the centre of Pyongyang for a mass celebration of the country's long-range rocket launch, state television showed.

The huge crowd in Kim Il-Sung Square, standing in neat, organised ranks, applauded speeches by senior military, party and government officials hailing the success of Wednesday's launch and praising the country's young leader, Kim Jong-Un.

"This was achieved thanks to the Great Marshall Kim Jong-Un's endless loyalty, bravery and wisdom,'' said Jang Chol, president of the State Academy of Sciences.

The rally came hours after state media published a statement by Kim Jong-Un ordering more satellite launches in the future, despite the global outrage and UN condemnation triggered by Wednesday's launch.

North Korea says it placed a satellite in orbit for peaceful research, but critics say the launch amounted to a banned ballistic missile test that marked a major advance for the communist state's nuclear weapons program.

The UN Security Council held emergency talks on Wednesday after the North, already under international sanctions for nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, ignored pleas from friends and foes and went ahead with the launch.

Kim Jong-Un, who oversaw Wednesday's launch, stressed the need "to launch satellites in the future... to develop the country's science, technology and economy", according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea says it placed a satellite in orbit for peaceful research, but critics say the launch amounted to a banned ballistic missile test that marked a major advance for the communist state's nuclear weapons programme.

Kim had issued the final written order for the rocket launch on Wednesday morning and "keenly observed" the whole process, said KCNA, unveiling new details of the leader's whereabouts on the day.

By placing a satellite in orbit, North Korea "showed at home and abroad the unshakable stand... to exercise the country's legitimate right to use space for peaceful purposes", Kim said, according to KCNA.

Analysts say the symbolism of the launch was a prime motivating factor for North Korea as the youthful Kim, who is not yet 30, shores up his leadership a year on from the death of his father Kim Jong-Il on December 17 last year.

"The launch means the fulfillment of Kim Jong-Il's last wish," said Yoo Ho-Yeol, a political science professor at Korea University in Seoul.

"As such, it helps cement Jong-Un's grip on power and strengthens his authority over the North's military elites, securing their loyalty and a sense of solidarity under his leadership," Yoo said.

The rocket launch has been seen as a timely boost for Kim, laying to rest the humiliation of a much-hyped but failed launch of North Korea's Unha-3 rocket in April, when the carrier exploded shortly after take-off.

Outrage over the recent launch was mixed with concern that North Korea may follow past practice in following up a missile or rocket launch with a nuclear test.

The North's first nuclear test in 2006 came three months after it tested a long-range missile. On that occasion, Pyongyang announced the test six days before it exploded the device.

The second test, in May 2009, came a month after a rocket launch that North Korea claimed had put a satellite in space.

Pyongyang had threatened the second test unless the UN Security Council apologised for its condemnation of the launch.